THOU SHALT NOT DISCRIMINATE (continued)

Rev. Abhi Janamanchi

March 4, 2007

The origins of some of the fears, misunderstandings, and even outright hatred that some persons have of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are complex and deep-seated, and more than I can even begin to sort out here. While there is demonstrable openness towards and acceptance of persons in the areas of race, religion, class, and culture there is, at the same time, a rather strong emotional or psychological or even spiritual roadblock among people in their attitudes towards gay, lesbian, bisexual, and in particular, transgender people.

The hard reality is that this roadblock is usually religiously based or informed. We need to explore why this block remains so firmly in place, and what role religion has played in keeping this roadblock in place. This roadblock, as I'm calling it, is one that religious right organizations are very skilled at exploiting for the sake of their political agenda.

In a society where the forces are most consistently allied against the rights of GLBT persons and most active in fostering fears and misunderstandings about GLBT persons, we need welcoming congregations and welcoming religious communities. We need religious communities who will say "yes" to the GLBT persons who come through their doors in search of a spiritual home. It is a "yes" that needs to be spoken in an intentional and affirmative manner. It is a "yes" that recognizes that the presence of glbt persons strengthens and deepens the quality of religious life for every member of that religious community whatever their sexual or gender orientation may be. We need Unitarian Universalist communities such as ours willing to stand up and be a counterpoint to the prejudiced and bigoted religious voices that are out there.

Unitarian Universalism has been on record as supporting the rights of bisexual, gay, and lesbian people since 1970. The UUA has advocated against sodomy laws and job and housing discrimination. We have advocated for ceremonies of union and same-gender marriage, the right of gays, lesbians, and transgender people to serve in the military, to lead congregations as ministers and religious professionals, and the right to be parents. We are now on record as supporting the rights of transgender people.

We have been on record supporting the rights of GLBT persons because we believe that love has no boundaries. Ours is a faith that is founded on love, that stands by love. Where love is, Unitarian Universalism has a responsibility to affirm and support it, even with our own doubts, against all bias.

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in freedom, equality, and justice; we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to not only stand in solidarity with those who are different from us, but also to honor and affirm that difference. Our denomination has a long tradition of standing up for the dignity and equality of all people, including those who are transgender or in the process of gaining that identity. We believe strongly that whatever our individual circumstances or struggles, our basic humanity remains the same. As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to serve all God's children. We are called to seek justice, to work for radical inclusiveness. This kind of work calls us and challenges us to stand with those who are being discriminated against, to examine oppressive structures, and to always remain open to learning and reflection on the journey. We are called to confront the life-denying fallacies of our culture that serve the powerful and punish the powerless.

Why? Because we live in a country that is dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal; that all people have certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away from them; and that, in the eyes of the law all are equal. As Unitarian Universalists, these are the primary values that motivate us to be involved in the struggle for equal rights and protections for GLBT people.

As a Unitarian Universalist, these are the primary values that are motivating me to stand up, to speak up, and to urge other religious voices to join with me to affirm what is right, what is just, what is ethical, and what is compassionate.

There is still much homophobia and heterosexism. The work and the story are still in progress. Each of us has the opportunity to be a part of the work and the story.

So where do we go from here? How do we deal with homophobia and heterosexism in ourselves and in our society?

First of all, we need to be honest with ourselves about our own homophobia and heterosexism. We need to demythologize our prejudices against GLBT people and be willing to help our families and friends do the same. We need to educate ourselves and our children about transgender issues. We need to not tokenize transgender people. We need to talk about gender roles we grew up with and how they inform and affect our understandings. And we need to realize that learning about gender is a life-long process.

I recognize that I have to struggle with my own baggage towards transgender people if I am to be a whole person I want to be. I am not ashamed of my fears; I am ashamed only when I do not face those fears. And I hope that all of us are willing to do that struggling, not only this morning but each and every time we feel that irrational fear.

Forrest Church, a UU minister in New York City, has spoken eloquently of that challenge:

It's easy, too easy, to love those who resemble us. In God's eye, if I read the scriptures right, such love is essential but not sufficient. Our challenge, God's challenge to us, is to love those who are different. Male and Female. Black and Brown and Red and White. Christian and Muslim and Buddhist and Hindu and Jew and Agnostic and Atheist. Yes, and straight and bi-[sexual] and Gay and lesbian (and transgender).

It is not easy to love what we don't know and may not understand. It's a lot easier not to look, to avert our eyes, not to feel, not to get involved.

But unlike the purveyors of hate in all places, I am convinced that we are all "God's children," whether we are repentant or not, whether we are saved or not. And I am thankful that I am part of a religion which, however short it falls of its ideals, nevertheless holds as its central theological principle that human beings have the capacity for change and, more important, most important, we have the capacity for love. I believe that we can love the stranger among us, unconditionally. I believe that there is hope for us yet.

But we have a long way to go in this world. Its cruelty, its stupidity, its hatred are all too real. We must struggle energetically against all the incipient forms of collective hatred, not only on principle, because evil must always be confronted, but in our own interests. I close with these words by Audre Lord:

I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood . . . and I remind myself all the time now that we can sit in our corners mute while our sisters and our brothers and our selves are wasted, while our children are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no more less afraid . . . I was going to die, if not sooner than later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silence has not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.

Let us recall the times we remain silent. May we find our voice. May we speak up.